BETA HEMOLYTIC STREPTOCOCCIC INFECTION IN INFANCY AND IN CHILDHOOD

Abstract

In previous investigations¹it was observed that the antistreptolysin titer of infants at the onset of infections was lower than that of older persons and that their antistreptolysin response to infection with beta hemolytic streptococci was minimal. Furthermore, Wilson, Wheeler and Leask²observed that the average antistreptolysin titer of a group of new-born infants (56 units)³was approximately that of their mothers (50 units). Repeated determinations showed that the mothers' titers remained at a constant level while those of the infants diminished progressively. Wilson and her associates considered this an indication of placental transmission of the antibody. Blood drawn from the umbilical cords of the majority of infants studied by Coburn and Pauli⁴contained more antistreptolysin than did the corresponding maternal blood. Lippard and Johnson¹encountered occasional infants whose blood clots showed maximum resistance to dissolution by hemolytic streptococci during the early part of an